A brand new, CGI version of “The Lion King” opened on July 19 featuring Beyonce as the voice of Nala, but she didn’t just contribute her voice acting to the film. She also produced and curated the soundtrack album “The Lion King: The Gift” and co-wrote and performed a new song, “Spirit.” Will she get Oscar’s attention? Most of our readers think she’ll be nominated for Best Original Song, but not everyone thinks she’ll win. Scroll down to see our complete poll results at the bottom of this post.
A plurality of respondents (46%) think Beyonce will win for “Spirit,” which she co-wrote with Ilya Salmanzadeh and Labrinth. Another 36% think she’ll be nominated, but not win, which means that a vast majority (82%) are betting on her to at least make the cut, which leaves only 18% who think Queen Bey will be snubbed entirely.
This wouldn’t be the first time Beyonce got on the academy’s radar. During the 2005 telecast she performed “Learn to Be Lonely,” the nominated song from “Phantom of the Opera.” Then she co-starred in the 2006 adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls,” which was nominated for eight Oscars that year, but none for Beyonce. Though maybe she should have been. She was actually credited as a songwriter on “Listen,” which earned an Oscar bid for Best Original Song, but the academy only nominated her three co-writers, Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven.
It’s not that Oscar voters turn up their nose at music celebrities. In recent years they have given Best Original Song to the likes of Eminem (“Lose Yourself” from “8 Mile”), Adele (the title song from “Skyfall”), Sam Smith (“Writing’s on the Wall” from “Spectre”) and of course Lady Gaga (“Shallow” from “A Star is Born”). So maybe it is time for the academy to make it up to Beyonce.
Be sure to make your Grammy predictions so that record executives and top name stars can see how their music is faring in our Grammy odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until nominations are announced. And join in the fierce debate over the 2020 Grammys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
